2nd UPDATE: Two remakes of British series were off to a promising start last night. The series premiere of MTV’s Skins averaged 3.3 million viewers, 2.7 million of them (3.4 rating) in the 12-34 demographic. Skins, which aired at 10 PM, drew the most 12-34 viewers for a series launch on MTV ever and a higher 12-34 rating than the premieres of such young-skewing scripted series as ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars (2.2 rating) and The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2.3 rating). But then they didn’t have the hottest cable reality show as a lead-in. Skins, a remake of the popular British series, followed a special original Jersey Shore, which logged 7.7 million viewers and a 7.6 rating in persons 12-34. Next on the scripted side for MTV is the return of comedy The Hard Times of RJ Berger and the premiere of Teen Wolf.

Meanwhile, the debut of Syfy’s Being Human averaged 2 million viewers at 9 PM. That was lower than Syfy’s established series (for example, Eureka‘s recent Season 4 premiere logged 2.5 million viewers). But was better than the debut of Caprica (1.6 million) last January. In fact, this was Syfy’s most watched winter scripted series launch since 2005, the network said. Syfy also touted the female appeal of the British series’ reboot. Of the 1 million Adults 18-49 that tuned in, 58% (582,000) were women – the highest percentage of female viewers ever for a Syfy original scripted series telecast. Some have questioned Syfy’s decision to schedule Being Human against another genre series, The Cape, on sister network NBC.

In other ratings news, it was a solid farewell for Disney Channel’s hit comedy Hannah Montana, which wrapped its four-season run on Sunday with 6.2 million viewers. The series finale was the second most watched episode of the Miley Cyrus starrer this season, which set a record for the franchise with a Season 4 average of 5.7 million viewers. The Hannah Montana finale posted Disney Channel’s highest ratings ever in the 7 PM hour in total viewers and kids 6-11.

13 Comments

I think Hannah Montana has higher ratings than most of NBC’s shows. That’s a pretty scary thought.

Marc • on Jan 18, 2011 2:10 pm

Didn’t this happen last year? I could’ve sworn the series ended in 2010… oh well, good for her?

JC • on Jan 18, 2011 2:10 pm

It will be interesting to see how many people tune into “Skins” next week. MTV’s last scripted series, “The Hard Times of RJ Berger,” dropped significantly after its debut, but did get renewed for a second season. I think “Skins” will settle in with about 2 million total viewers each week, which should be good enough for a season 2 renewal.

demoncat • on Jan 18, 2011 2:10 pm

thought both skins and being human were interesting. skins hilerious the way they kept trying to get one of the guys some loving. being human was a little slow starting out though with time maybe it will prove to be a hit.

Jay Floyd • on Jan 18, 2011 2:10 pm

The SyFy version of BEING HUMAN seems a bit better than it’s British source material. Kind of nice to see!

Gemma • on Jan 18, 2011 2:10 pm

Anyone see Skins last night? I’m a huge fan of the original and wondering if the american version holds up.

Tedd • on Jan 18, 2011 2:10 pm

Couldn’t get through 5 minutes of skins. Looks like it was shot in 1994. Anyone else notice how bad the fake snow was? Producers- if you can’t afford a full set of fake snow, don’t do it. The audience can tell.

Anonymous • on Jan 18, 2011 2:10 pm

as someone that works on the show. I can assure you. the snow is real. It was shot in toronto and the task was finding a time when it wasn’t snowing so we could shoot

Frank • on Jan 18, 2011 2:10 pm

I hope Syfy can do something better with the premise of “Being Human” than the BBC. I tried to like the original, but I still hated it after two seasons. The werewolf had a nice ass, though.

“In fact, this was Syfy’s most watched winter scripted series launch since 2005, the network said.”

And what was that 2005 series, and what did SciFi eventually do with it? Who cares what these new shows debut with, because if they aren’t wrasslin’ or a Ghost Hunters spin-off, they are destined for cancellation in a year or two.

jeff • on Jan 18, 2011 2:10 pm

I watched being human, and its better than the campy bbc version.
good story telling, and xcellent casting
way to go sy fy..
hopefully you won’t cancel this one too, for some Frakin’..battlestar re-tread..

rock on’

moe • on Jan 18, 2011 2:10 pm

Loved the original BBC version of Being Human first season. Wasn’t so hot on the second. Like a lot of these high concept series, they get away from the character development and focus too much on the action for the sophomore run. It got a little too overblown with plot devices. Some wonderful writing when things were more of a balance of concept and character. Haven’t seen the SYFY version yet. Almost afraid to, but in another kind of way.